D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty says he wants voters to look at his re-election campaign as a “performance review.” The mayor likes to compare governing with running a big company, and he hopes D.C. voters will apply the unemotional assessment when they cast their ballots.
If “you’re able to fulfill all of your work goals … and been able to succeed on them, then you should keep the job,” Fenty told The Washington Examiner‘s editorial board on Friday.
But the mayor conceded that approach has left some people cold. And he acknowledged mistakes such as failing to reach out to constituents and build bridges to the city council.
“When I came in as mayor, I wanted to get as much done as humanly possible,” Fenty said. “There wasn’t any room in there, and this was a mistake, for making sure the people who were on different sides of an issue that I personally heard from them and I personally explained my decision.”
“We were going to be the people’s advocate … to reform the government,” he added. “But I wasn’t thinking about the last step of involving people.”
Those mistakes have left Fenty trailing in the polls with just over two weeks to go until the Democratic primary election. A Washington Post survey released Sunday showed him with 36 percent of the vote, to D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray’s 49.
Fenty promised to be a better listener in a second term, and said he hopes voters look beyond his failure to communicate and return him to office.
“If someone is getting the job done in the position now, why would you switch?” Fenty said.
That’s why Fenty, after his apologies, preached results.
He’s hoping voters will rate his performance on five issues:
- Education: Fenty has pushed voters to consider his re-election a referendum on D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. He said Friday that Rhee has assured him she’ll stay through a second term despite plans to marry the mayor of Sacramento, Calif.
- Public safety: Again, Fenty trumpets personnel hiring decisions, pointing out that Police Chief Cathy Lanier was his most criticized hire but now has the highest approval rating among his top administration members, according to a recent poll. Homicides, Fenty pointed out, are down, although some crime statistics show that rapes and other violent crimes are up in the city.
- Basic city services: Voters should judge the mayor not only on potholes being filled, the mayor says, but also improvements to agencies such as the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Fenty likes to point to the business-permitting agency’s new building as a sign it has improved. Gray says the mayor hasn’t done enough to cut the red tape that makes life difficult for small businesses.
- Economic development: Fenty loves to list many projects, from a mall in Columbia Heights to new recreation centers east of the Anacostia River, as signs that the city is on the upswing. Gray says those projects haven’t done enough to bring jobs to District residents.
- Finances: The mayor says he has cut the size of government and reduced spending even as tax dollars dried up from a bad economy. Gray says Fenty has shifted money from program accounts to fund agencies that have routinely gone over budget.
